The increases in registration taxes linked to public transportation which come into effect Wednesday in many municipalities in the province are strongly denounced by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
The amount of the registration tax intended for public transportation increases from $59 in 2024 to $150 in 2025 for the municipalities of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM).
In Quebec and Gatineau, motorists will have to pay $60 for this tax while the amount for those residing in Sherbrooke will be $34.
These amounts are in addition to the public transportation contribution of $30 which must also be paid by motorists in these cities.
“These are absolutely absurd amounts which will quite unfairly affect families and workers who do not have the choice of using their car every day to get to work, or even to drive their child home. “school,” says the Quebec director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Nicolas Gagnon, in an interview with LCN.
The director of the Quebec section of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation deplores in particular that these sums will, according to him, be used largely to absorb the deficit of transport companies.
“This is in addition to all the other increases that we can expect for the new year,” he says. We’re starting 2025 like a wake-up call, you could put it like that.”
-“Already we are not satisfied that there are tax increases, it is even more overwhelming to see that we are adding to the tax burden for taxpayers and that we are not giving them best services, he continues. We are simply cleaning up the poor financial management of recent years.”
When the fare increase was announced, local elected officials indicated that these new amounts will make it possible to improve public transport service.
“The tax will raise more than $320 million per year, an amount which will contribute to supporting the development, operation and maintenance of the metropolitan public transport network,” the CMM indicated in particular.
Mr. Gagnon hopes that this type of increase will not be repeated in the coming years.
“Unfortunately, the increase is already in force, so we cannot oppose it any further, but we will have to remain vigilant to ensure that this is not a precedent that will be used for the various municipal administrations to increase to repetition of registration taxes,” he mentions.
Watch the full interview in the video above
Related News :